In modern industrial applications such as automobile manufacturing or mechanical engineering, it is frequently necessary to be able to operate different tools on an apparatus in the plant, with field devices such as sensors or actuators that are necessary for tool functionality.
Profinet, which is well known to be the open Ethernet-based automation standard of the Profibus User Organization (PNO) and follows the Ethernet standard (according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3) essentially 100%, is currently used generally for linking or integrating field devices in automation systems of industrial applications. Process and production data are available not only here on the field level, they can also be seamlessly integrated into multi-division data acquisition systems, thus enabling integration of the decentralized periphery in the vertical direction as well.
An essential difference between Profibus and Profinet lies in the different addressing of devices of the field devices connected in or to be connected into the respective network.
In contrast to the Profibus, the respective connected field devices inside a Profinet network are addressed by means of the specific and unambiguous Media Access control (MAC) address for each device, as well as the Internet Protocol (IP) address unambiguously assigned to this physical address.
Before the assignment of the physical and logical network addresses, however, each Profinet network component must be granted a symbolic name or Profinet device name for identification within the network for subsequent unambiguous addressing. The symbolic name or Profinet device name is set for the field device before the latter can be operated in a Profinet system. This granting is frequently referred to as “baptism.”
In addition, these device names are made known in advance to a configuration unit that can be associated with the apparatus to which the field devices will be connected, and they are assigned a target configuration. This information from the configuration unit is subsequently transferred to a controller assigned to the apparatus for granting the IP addresses, as well as for parameterization and configuration of connected, identified field devices. If a field device is changed out, the “new” field device replacing the changed-out field device must be set up with the original Profinet name, i.e., the same name as that for the “old” field device being replaced.
Based on the Profinet standards, different automation stations for modern industrial applications, such as tools, together with integrated field devices necessary for the implementation of automation functionalities on an automation apparatus, such as a robot or a production machine, are activated according to prior art, essentially as described below with reference to FIG. 2, a highly simplified schematic sketch of automation stations according to prior art to be operated at an automation apparatus.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary automation apparatus 100 operating according to the Profinet standard to which a configuration unit 600 is assigned. Three tools 200, 300 and 400 are to be connected to the automation apparatus 100 as automation stations in the operation.
First, the tools 200, 300 and 400 are coupled to the apparatus 100 in the operation. In the coupling process of tools 200, 300 and 400, they are supplied with power 1 in a first step via the supply units 107 arranged at the automation apparatus 100 and via the supply units 217, 317 and 417 arranged at the tools. Then a controller 101 recognizes the connected tool by way of special input information that has a special coding depending on the tool. The connected tool can be recognized via plug connectors, but also in a non-contact manner, e.g., via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) techniques. In each case it is necessary to provide a special coding unit, labeled 218, 318 and 418 in FIG. 2, on the tool side and, on the automation apparatus 100 side, an interface unit 108, to which the coding information is transferred in a subsequent step 2. The automation apparatus 100 further comprises a field device 102 that is connected to the controller 101 and reads out the transferred coding information 3 and transfers it to the controller.
In addition, a number of Profinet-compatible field devices 501 and 502, 503 or 504-507 are installed on the tools 200, 300 and 400, wherein different numbers and types are possible and are generally required depending on the tool. The field devices 501 and 502, 503 and 504-507 are also supplied with power via the supply voltage of tools 200, 300 and 400, which is not shown in detail in FIG. 2 for the sake of comprehensibility. Then a connection 4 to these field devices is produced via a communications terminal 109 arranged on the automation apparatus 100 and via communications terminals 219, 319 and 419 arranged on the tools 200, 300 and 400, respectively. Each device is labeled unambiguously by its device name, as described above. The field devices 501-507 of all tools must thus have an unambiguous device name, referred to in the present example as “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “E,” “F” and “G,” which is permanently stored on the devices.
These device names “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “E,” “F” and “G” are also planned and stored in advance in the configuration unit 600, and are made known to the controller 101 by configuration unit 600 for activation.
The controller 101 identifies the individual field devices 501-507, and then carries out the automation tasks necessary for activation, depending on the respective connected tool. For this purpose, it uses the information on the connected tool and on the field devices installed on the tools.
Essential disadvantages of the above-described prior art are based on the necessary tool coding.
The coding of tools for identification or recognition typically entails high cost, first because special interfaces 108 are necessary on the side of the automation apparatus 100 and an additional field device 102 is necessary for evaluating the coding. Moreover, the respective coding units can become contaminated or be destroyed in continuous operation, which may cause downtime.